I am trying to get the basics down for a remote assistance app. I was looking into the way (going forward) to display the host's screen on a remote client and I am not sure if I should be using the desktop duplication API or remote display drivers OR something completely different.

I am pretty certain that mirror drivers are no longer loaded as of Windows 8 (according to this page), but LogMeIn still uses a display driver on Windows 10 machines , so I'm a little confused on that.

I am trying to develop a more affordable (as close to free as I can get) solution for a couple of non-profits that I would like to help.

Some example code of sharing video with remote display drivers, or the desktop duplication API would be greatly appreciated.

23 Replies

Hello, I would recommend Google chrome. If you are a nonprofit, you can probably qualify for Google's gsuite (formerly known as Google apps for nonprofits). If you download Chrome on the remote hosts and the clients you can remote stram from any pc, mac, or linux. Here is a description from the Google Chrome web store
"Chrome Remote Desktop allows users to remotely access another computer through Chrome browser or a Chromebook. Computers can be made available on an short-term basis for scenarios such as ad hoc remote support, or on a more long-term basis for remote access to your applications and files. All connections are fully secured"
I would stay away from software which punches a udp hole. Some examples of UDP hole punching are teamviewer. I had a client who ran into issues after they installed such softwarevand their DNS resolved to Amazon instead of to the domain controller. Wikipedia defines UDP hole punching as "UDP hole punching establishes connectivity between two hosts communicating across one or more network address translators. Typically, third-party hosts on the public transit network are used to establish UDP port states that may be used for direct communications between the communicating hosts. Once port state has been successfully established and the hosts are communicating, port state may be maintained either by normal communications traffic, or in the prolonged absence thereof, by keep-alive packets, usually consisting of empty UDP packets or packets with minimal non-intrusive content."
So I have not found anything so far better than Google Chrome remote desktop.

Thanks for that link. However, I do not think (I may be wrong) that Google Chrome remote access can be accessed by more than one person or login. This would be a problem where a worker may need access from home or on the road (using their own account I presume) and where the admins need remote access for their duties.

UPDATED: That's a neat solution. But some of their user laptops (its a non-profit so they encourage users to use their own laptops on the road) are Windows 10 Home edition and that edition ONLY allows remote assistance sessions - so no way to work unless the end user is there.

While I guess I could require all of the end users for every organization that will use my app upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, depending on the Microsoft deals they could get, it could get expensive.

I love RDP, but using it does not do one of the things that I wanted most - teach me more about coding a remote assistance app.

While my main goal is to help the local non-profit, I also want to grow as a developer while I do it. And there's only one way to grow as a developer - develop stuff.

I have found code that seems to handle the screen viewing for Windows 8+ and Windows Server 2012+ systems. I am working on understanding it enough to roll it into a DLL for use with something like a Python/QT app that can run on Linux, Mac and Windows.
Edited Jul 3, 2017 at 6:16 UTC

UPDATED: That's a neat solution. But some of their user laptops (its a non-profit so they encourage users to use their own laptops on the road) are Windows 10 Home edition and that edition ONLY allows remote assistance sessions - so no way to work unless the end user is there.

UPDATED: That's a neat solution. But some of their user laptops (its a non-profit so they encourage users to use their own laptops on the road) are Windows 10 Home edition and that edition ONLY allows remote assistance sessions - so no way to work unless the end user is there.

Just install VNC then.

VNC is an OK solution, but I haven't seen any that rival the quality of TeamViewer or LogMeIn.

Wayk Now from Devolutions is nice. Who knows Devolutions might even have NGO prices and you could get it cheaper ?

Why torture your brain trying to make something yourself. You'll never be able to make it as good as a commercial product and what will you do if anything goes wrong.. Always keep good support as a backup. Plus they have a really nice cartoon ( Sysadminotaur )

Wayk Now from Devolutions is nice. Who knows Devolutions might even have NGO prices and you could get it cheaper ?

Why torture your brain trying to make something yourself. You'll never be able to make it as good as a commercial product and what will you do if anything goes wrong.. Always keep good support as a backup. Plus they have a really nice cartoon ( Sysadminotaur )

A) Devolutions is expensive as hell without any NGO pricing, and they don't even suggest such a pricing scheme on their website.

B) Some people still like to learn new things, expand their minds and grow as developers. I know it's unusual...I guess I'm a unicorn now.

c) If something goes wrong you do just like anyone else does - you fix it. (As for exposure to lawsuits, that's what fine print is for.)

A) Devolutions is expensive as hell without any NGO pricing, and they don't even suggest such a pricing scheme on their website.

Just want to make sure that we are talking about the pricing of Wayk Now at $59.99 per user correct?

We also offer NGO pricing. Please PM me for more details.

We can talk about the $59.99 per user offering. I am assuming (and I may be wrong) that you are not allowing one user to access an unlimited number of remote workstations for $59.99 a month. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find anything on the Devolutions site that mentions the number of remote installations or simultaneous sessions per one user allowed for this license.

I also tried the live chat but it doesn't seem to be working. It didn't give any response whatsoever.

UPDATE : It seems that the Live Chat was showing because the Ghostery extension was active in Chrome. With it disabled, Live Chat is not showing.
Edited Jul 6, 2017 at 5:21 UTC

A) Devolutions is expensive as hell without any NGO pricing, and they don't even suggest such a pricing scheme on their website.

Just want to make sure that we are talking about the pricing of Wayk Now at $59.99 per user correct?

We also offer NGO pricing. Please PM me for more details.

We can talk about the $59.99 per user offering. I am assuming (and I may be wrong) that you are not allowing one user to access an unlimited number of remote workstations for $59.99 a month. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find anything on the Devolutions site that mentions the number of remote installations or simultaneous sessions per one user allowed for this license.

A) Devolutions is expensive as hell without any NGO pricing, and they don't even suggest such a pricing scheme on their website.

Just want to make sure that we are talking about the pricing of Wayk Now at $59.99 per user correct?

We also offer NGO pricing. Please PM me for more details.

We can talk about the $59.99 per user offering. I am assuming (and I may be wrong) that you are not allowing one user to access an unlimited number of remote workstations for $59.99 a month. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find anything on the Devolutions site that mentions the number of remote installations or simultaneous sessions per one user allowed for this license.

Typically wording like that is unlimited installations.

If so, it may be worth a try. I did notice today that TeamViewer has abandoned the "lifetime" licensing for monthly/yearly licensing. They had done this in the UK a while back, but now it seems as though it is the norm for the U.S. as well.

I think they are charging $49.50 a month or so for theirs, but it is limited to 200 remote workstations.

A) Devolutions is expensive as hell without any NGO pricing, and they don't even suggest such a pricing scheme on their website.

Just want to make sure that we are talking about the pricing of Wayk Now at $59.99 per user correct?

We also offer NGO pricing. Please PM me for more details.

We can talk about the $59.99 per user offering. I am assuming (and I may be wrong) that you are not allowing one user to access an unlimited number of remote workstations for $59.99 a month. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find anything on the Devolutions site that mentions the number of remote installations or simultaneous sessions per one user allowed for this license.

Typically wording like that is unlimited installations.

If so, it may be worth a try. I did notice today that TeamViewer has abandoned the "lifetime" licensing for monthly/yearly licensing. They had done this in the UK a while back, but now it seems as though it is the norm for the U.S. as well.

I think they are charging $49.50 a month or so for theirs, but it is limited to 200 remote workstations.

I cannot claim to always see the trees and the forest, so I may be missing it...but I don't see something as simple as a single license for a single user to access any number of remote workstations (on and off site).

I am REALLY interested in the actual costs of a remote control session (no matter the software provider of the remote solution). I suspect that it is possible to deliver such services for far less than is currently being offered by TeamViewer, LogMeIn or Devolutions.

Splashtop On-Demand Support (SOS) is free for non-commercial use. For commercial use, it's only $199 per year per technician..... cost effective, high performance, and also include remote mobile device support. If you need unattended support, please check out Splashtop Remote Support. I'm here to answer any question.

Splashtop On-Demand Support (SOS) is free for non-commercial use. For commercial use, it's only $199 per year per technician..... cost effective, high performance, and also include remote mobile device support. If you need unattended support, please check out Splashtop Remote Support. I'm here to answer any question.

I tried Splashtop before and the graphics were absolutely horrid. I downloaded it again tonight and installed the Splashtop Streamer on a remote PC. The remote PC never showed in the Splashtop Business app.

I even installed the "mirror driver" although Microsoft says that mirror drivers would not be supported in Windows after version 8. Still nothing.

Splashtop On-Demand Support (SOS) is free for non-commercial use. For commercial use, it's only $199 per year per technician..... cost effective, high performance, and also include remote mobile device support. If you need unattended support, please check out Splashtop Remote Support. I'm here to answer any question.

I tried Splashtop before and the graphics were absolutely horrid. I downloaded it again tonight and installed the Splashtop Streamer on a remote PC. The remote PC never showed in the Splashtop Business app.

I even installed the "mirror driver" although Microsoft says that mirror drivers would not be supported in Windows after version 8. Still nothing.

I am uninstalling Splashtop on both machines.

sorry to hear the issue. this is definitely weird. Splashtop is used by millions of consumers... used by millions of iOS, Android, PC and MAC users to remote access their own computers. Over 30k+ MSPs are using the solution, and the product is integrated in multiple RMM solution (Autotask, Atera, Naverisks, and others) used for managing millions of computers already. Splashtop is in fact best known for its 3D / video streaming performance.... many people using it to stream 3D games as the product supports NVIDIA and AMD graphics acceleration. We love to have the chance to work with you to understand the specific graphics issue you are encountering... it definitely doesnt seem normal. I will send you a private message to coordinate. Appreciate your time and interest.

Splashtop On-Demand Support (SOS) is free for non-commercial use. For commercial use, it's only $199 per year per technician..... cost effective, high performance, and also include remote mobile device support. If you need unattended support, please check out Splashtop Remote Support. I'm here to answer any question.

I tried Splashtop before and the graphics were absolutely horrid. I downloaded it again tonight and installed the Splashtop Streamer on a remote PC. The remote PC never showed in the Splashtop Business app.

I even installed the "mirror driver" although Microsoft says that mirror drivers would not be supported in Windows after version 8. Still nothing.

I am uninstalling Splashtop on both machines.

sorry to hear the issue. this is definitely weird. Splashtop is used by millions of consumers... used by millions of iOS, Android, PC and MAC users to remote access their own computers. Over 30k+ MSPs are using the solution, and the product is integrated in multiple RMM solution (Autotask, Atera, Naverisks, and others) used for managing millions of computers already. Splashtop is in fact best known for its 3D / video streaming performance.... many people using it to stream 3D games as the product supports NVIDIA and AMD graphics acceleration. We love to have the chance to work with you to understand the specific graphics issue you are encountering... it definitely doesnt seem normal. I will send you a private message to coordinate. Appreciate your time and interest.

I appreciate the offer, but I am really, really swamped and I just don't have the time to troubleshoot Splashtop.

I cannot claim to always see the trees and the forest, so I may be missing it...but I don't see something as simple as a single license for a single user to access any number of remote workstations (on and off site).

I am REALLY interested in the actual costs of a remote control session (no matter the software provider of the remote solution). I suspect that it is possible to deliver such services for far less than is currently being offered by TeamViewer, LogMeIn or Devolutions.

And, there is only one way to find that out.....

Pricing for Wayk Now is indeed $59.99/user/year for unlimited workstations.

The CAL licenses and Server are part of our enterprise password management offering which is a separate solution.

That certainly sounds like something anyone can afford. Where is the link to purchase that? I'll give it a try.

UPDATE : My bad. Wayk Now doesn't seem to allow for remote administration while the user is away from the desktop. It looks like it requires the end user to give a code like TeamViewer does for their Quick Support option.

Wayk Now will not work for the remote administration needs of the intended clients.

.

.

Holy crap! See the screwed up formatting of the text above (had to use periods to get any spacing between paragraphs)? This was edited on a Samsung Note 5 running Android 7.0.

.

I humbly suggest that Spiceworks get the basics (like formatting) working before worrying about screwing up the community with a site-wide re-org.